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Fire guts kindergarten [1]

Nuku'alofa, Tonga

Thursday, July 18, 2013 - 10:26.  Updated on Monday, September 9, 2013 - 18:40.

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The Tonga Fire Service fights a blaze at the Maglo Kindergarten, Nuku'alofa. 18 July 2013.

The Tonga Fire Service fights a blaze at the Maglo Kindergarten, Nuku'alofa. 18 July 2013.

A kindergarten staffer, three children, and another person, escaped safely as a blaze engulfed the Maglo Kindergarten in Railway Road, Pahu, this morning.

The Tonga Fire Service attended the blaze at around 8:20am, when parents were dropping off their children for kindy.

There were no injuries reported.

A staff member her daughter, two young students and a resident escaped, before flames engulfed the cement and timber house, which was gutted by the fire.

Staffer Lolakeiti Hafoka told Matangi Tonga that she got to the school around 8:10am with her young daughter and there was no sign of any fire or smoke in the house, and no students had arrived at the time.

She said two children were then dropped-off by their parents and another person who lived at the house left for work. "He asked me what time it was and I told him it was 8:20am," she said.

"Shortly after that my daughter told me she smelled smoke. So I went to check the rooms and when I got to one of the bedrooms at the back of the house I saw the fire had engulfed the bed and clothes. I quickly got the kids and another resident, who was sleeping at the house, and fled to the neigbours and called the fire services," she said.

The principal, Lesi Moeaki, a Fijian, said she when she arrived at the school the fire had already started. In an emotional state she watched as the firefighters tried to control the flames, while assuring parents who arrived with their children that everyone was safe.

Lesi said the school began in 2003 and has a role of 22 children between the ages of two to four years old, with 32 pre-schoolers aged four to five years old.

The Fire Commander Sinamoni Kauvaka said they were investigating the cause of the fire

The Tonga Fire Service fights a blaze at the Maglo Kindergarten, Nuku'alofa. 18 July 2013.
The Tonga Fire Service fights a blaze at the Maglo Kindergarten, Nuku'alofa. 18 July 2013.
The Tonga Fire Service fights a blaze at the Maglo Kindergarten, Nuku'alofa. 18 July 2013.
The Tonga Fire Service fights a blaze at the Maglo Kindergarten, Nuku'alofa. 18 July 2013.
Home-owners watch Tonga Fire Service fight a blaze at the Maglo Kindergarten, Nuku'alofa. 18 July 2013.
The Tonga Fire Service fights a blaze at the Maglo Kindergarten, Nuku'alofa. 18 July 2013.
The Tonga Fire Service fights a blaze at the Maglo Kindergarten, Nuku'alofa. 18 July 2013.
The Tonga Fire Service fights a house fire at the Maglo Kindergarten, Nuku'alofa. 18 July 2013.
Tonga Fire Service [2]
Maglo Kindergarten [3]
house fire [4]
Emergencies [5]

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[1] https://matangitonga.to/2013/07/18/fire-guts-kindergarten [2] https://matangitonga.to/tag/tonga-fire-service?page=1 [3] https://matangitonga.to/tag/maglo-kindergarten?page=1 [4] https://matangitonga.to/tag/house-fire?page=1 [5] https://matangitonga.to/topic/emergencies?page=1